As my Aikido grows more powerful, I am struck by the fact that so too does the lessening of my reliance on power grow apace. Rough touch backed by insistence that my partner conform to my will has, over the years, given way to gentle contact that guides and follows simultaneously. The need to dictate the flow of events has been transformed into acceptance of the moment.

Growth of power emerges naturally from my practice; as does the realization that manifest power and applied power are two different things that can be individually employed to arrive at a single destination.